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He has immersed himself in work on R20 Regions of Climate Action, a nonprofit he helped start in 2010 that works closely with the United Nations to implement and help finance green projects in states and provinces around the world.

The group’s financing network has more than $1 billion worth of projects in the pipeline, which includes everything from retrofitting streetlights around the world to financing a sewage treatment facility in Los Angeles County, according to Terry Tamminen, a longtime Schwarzenegger energy and environment adviser who works with the group.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon presented Schwarzenegger with the United Nations Correspondents Association’s global advocate of the year award Wednesday in New York City.

Separately, Schwarzenegger is an executive producer on a new Showtime documentary series set to air in 2013 that “will explore the human impact of climate change,” according to the network. James Cameron, who directed the first two films in the “Terminator” series, is also an executive producer of the episodes.

The former governor has emerged as perhaps the highest-profile in a small group of Republican climate change activists, bucking those in Washington who are skeptical of the science behind global warming.

California is often light-years ahead of other states on environmental issues. Schwarzenegger signed a bill in 2006 requiring the state to reduce its emissions, setting into motion a lengthy fight over just how the goal would be implemented. The state had its first cap-and-trade auction last month.

For now, Schwarzenegger says it’s time to focus on regional approaches, an acknowledgment that federal and international policymakers face an uphill battle in addressing climate change.

“To come to an agreement in California was a huge challenge. Now, imagine coming to an agreement in the United States and worldwide,” he told POLITICO in an interview. “We did not want to wait for Washington or anybody else.”

He continued: “What we want to do is inspire other states and other provinces to do the same thing. Don’t wait; here’s what you can do.”